a human rights group based in britain says more than 40,000 people have died. through it all, president assad and his administration have hung on to power. a spokesperson for the syrian national coalition argues getting rid of assad requires a two-track approach. walid al bunni says nations need to isolate the president and support opposition fighters. >> we have two ways, putting pressure on russia, china and iran to stop supporting this regime, and then this would be useful, or supporting militarily the opposition or the interfering by the nato to make free zone and no-fly zone. >> reporter: russia and china have repeatedly vetoed u.n. security council resolutions on imposing sanctions against syria. without their support, the international efforts can only put limited pressure on president assad. diplomats here are still hoping their efforts will help in some part to end the conflict in syria. however, after 20 months of violence, they've learned getting peace will take time. akira saheki, nhk world, tokyo. >>> satellite images show north korea could be prep